A man will spend the rest of his life in prison for killing another man outside an Aurora bar.
Raymundo Ugalde
An Arapahoe County jury convicted Raymundo Ugalde, 25, of first-degree murder after deliberation, among other charges. On Nov. 17, 2017, Judge Jeffrey Holmes imposed the mandatory sentence of life in prison without possibility of parole.
On May 23, 2016, Ugalde came to La Cabana nightclub in Aurora to pick up several of his family members. When he arrived, the individuals he came to pick up were in conversation with Melvin Castellano-Savillon, 32, and others inside Castellano-Savillon’s vehicle regarding a marijuana sale. Ugalde robbed the passenger of Castellano-Savillon’s vehicle at gunpoint, and attempted to rob Castellano-Savillon. Castellano-Savillon refused to give Ugalde any money and attempted to leave the parking lot. As Castellano-Savillon was driving from the lot, Ugalde fired shots at Castellano-Savillon and into his vehicle, striking Castellano-Savillon in the left abdomen. The victim died of his injuries.
Ugalde and his group fled the scene. Det. Warren Miller and others within the Aurora Police Department relentlessly investigated the death, and by March 2017 had developed enough evidence to obtain a warrant for Ugalde’s arrest.
“This was a callous, cold-blooded crime made worse by the defendant forcing his family to cover for him,” said Senior Deputy District Attorney Andrew Steers, who prosecuted the case with Deputy District Attorney Megan Moriarty.